Editing Korean reunification (section)

===United States===
[[File:President Trump Meets with Chairman Kim Jong Un (48164813552).jpg|thumb|US President [[Donald Trump]] (left), North Korean Chairman [[Kim Jong Un]] (center), and South Korean President [[Moon Jae-in]] (right) in the demilitarized zone in 2019]]
{{Further|OPLAN 5027|OPLAN 5029|North Korea–United States relations|South Korea–United States relations}}
The United States officially supports Korean reunification under a democratic government, but questions still remain as to the continued relevance of US military presence on the peninsula.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA408232.pdf |title=The Effects of Korean Unification on the US Military Presence in Northeast Asia |last=Haselden Jr. |first=Carl E. |date=November 2002 |page={{Page needed|date=September 2024}} |website= |publisher= |access-date=10 September 2024 |quote=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.brookings.edu/articles/korean-reunification-and-u-s-interests-preparing-for-one-korea/|title=Korean Reunification and U.S. Interests: Preparing for One Korea|website=brookings.edu|first=Evans J.R.|last=Revere|date=January 20, 2015|access-date=January 25, 2024}}</ref> [[Mike Mansfield]] proposed that Korea be neutralized under a great-power agreement, accompanied by the withdrawal of all foreign troops and the discontinuation of security treaties with the great power guarantors of the North and South.

In the 1990s, despite issues surrounding the controversial US-South Korean joint [[Team Spirit]] military exercises, the Clinton administration still managed to help turn around the situation regarding peace with North Korea through [[Jimmy Carter]]'s support. It promised [[Light-water reactor|light water reactors]] in exchange for the availability of North Korea for inspection of its facilities and other concessions. North Korea reacted positively, despite blaming the United States as the original aggressor in the Korean War. There were attempts to [[Japan–North Korea relations|normalize relations with Japan]] as well as the United States with South Korean President Kim Dae-jung in open support. North Korea actually favored the United States military's position on the front lines because it helped prevent an outbreak of war. Eventually, aid and oil were supplied, and even cooperation with South Korean business firms. However, one of the remaining fears was North Korea, with their necessary uranium deposits, having the potential to achieve a high level of nuclear technology.

Former US Secretary of State [[Henry Kissinger]], another supporter of Korean unification, proposed a [[Six-party talks|six-party conference]] to find a way out of the [[Korean conflict|Korean dilemma]], composed of the two Koreas and four connected powers (the United States, the Soviet Union, China, and Japan). North Korea denounced the "four plus two" scenario, as it was also known, by claiming Korea would be at the mercy of the [[great power]]s and insinuated the reestablishment of Japanese power in Korea. However, North Korea ultimately lacked confidence in getting simultaneous help from China and the Soviet Union.<ref name=Cumings/>{{rp|508}}